"Let's go Venus Williams" - Alexis Ohanian after Venus' R1 win at ASB Classic 2023
After securing her first singles win on the tour in over a year, Venus Williams received words of encouragement from her sister Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian.
Venus entered the main draw of the ASB Classic as a wildcard entrant. She faced and defeated qualifier Katie Volynets of America 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the first round of the WTA 250 tournament, being held in New Zealand's Auckland city.
The match was played on Monday (January 2) and lasted just under two hours. The older Williams sister broke her 113th-ranked opponent four times during the straight-sets victory.
Reddit co-founder and entrepreneur Ohanian took to social media and backed Venus to have a successful season in 2023.
"Let's go 2023 @Venuseswilliams," Ohanian tweeted.
Let's go 2023 @Venuseswilliams !! twitter.com/VeeSTARWilliam…
Fans were overjoyed to see that their favorite player was still winning matches at the age of 42. They liked it even more so as she beat a player who was exactly half her age.
2023 marks the beginning of Venus's 30th year on the WTA tour. She made her debut in October 1994 at the age of 14.
This was her first singles win since beating Romania's Mihaela Buzarnescu in the opening round of the 2021 Wimbledon. Her last match that year came at the Chicago Open in August, where she lost to Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh in the first round. A number of injuries kept her away from the action for almost a year as she made her singles comeback at the Citi Open in August 2022.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion went on to participate in another three tournaments before the end of the season, including the US Open. However, she faced first-round exits on all four occasions.
While her younger sister Serena retired after the New York Major, Venus is not done yet and is gearing up for the new season.
Venus Williams to make 22nd appearance at the Australian Open
A few days ago, Venus Williams received a wildcard entry into the upcoming Australian Open. This will be her 22nd appearance at the tournament, though she is yet to lift the title. She reached the finals in 2003 and 2017, losing to Serena Williams on both occasions.
Upon receiving the news of the wildcard, Venus stated that she was looking forward to making new memories Down Under.
"I am very excited to be returning to Melbourne to compete at the Australian Open in January. I've been competing in the country for over 20 years now and the Australian community has always supported me wholeheartedly. It will be an honor to play for the fans again and I'm looking forward to making more memories at the tournament this year," Venus Williams said.